EXODUS, CHAPTER TWELVE

12:1-13:22, From the Land of Goshen to the Red Sea.

12:1-36, Israel was spared the death of the firstborn by means of the blood of the Passover Lamb.

12:1 AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES AND AARON IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, SAYING,

A.AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES AND AARON: We do not know how much later it was that Jehovah spoke to His two servants.

B.Notice it was THE LORD who spoke. The brothers were the agents, but the legislation always was from the Lord.

12:2 THIS MONTH [SHALL BE] UNTO YOU THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS: IT [SHALL BE] THE FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR TO YOU.

A.THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS: That is, THIS MONTH was to be the beginning of the religious year, the first month of the year.

B.These notes will not deal with the calendar, but other Bible passages indicate they continued to have the same civil year as before, but a new ecclesiastical calendar.

12:3 SPEAK YE UNTO ALL THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL, SAYING, IN THE TENTH [DAY] OF THIS MONTH THEY SHALL TAKE TO THEM EVERY MAN A LAMB, ACCORDING TO THE HOUSE OF [THEIR] FATHERS, A LAMB FOR AN HOUSE:

A.Here is the beginning of the instruction regarding the Pass-over Feast which would always remind them of their escape from the plague of death of the firstborn, and the deliverance of the people from the bondage and afflictions of Egypt, that deliverance marking the establishment of them as a Nation under the direct government of God.

B.ACCORDING TO THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS: That is, for each father's house, or for each family.

C.The head of each family thus was charged to provide a lamb for his family to eat.

12:4 AND IF THE HOUSEHOLD BE TOO LITTLE FOR THE LAMB, LET HIM AND HIS NEIGHBOR NEXT UNTO HIS HOUSE TAKE [IT] ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF THE SOULS; EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS EATING SHALL MAKE YOUR COUNT FOR THE LAMB.

A.TOO LITTLE FOR THE LAMB: If any family was too small to eat a whole lamb, they were to share it with their neighbor.

B.It had to be large enough for everyone to have some meat.

12:5 YOUR LAMB SHALL BE WITHOUT BLEMISH, A MALE OF THE FIRST YEAR: YE SHALL TAKE [IT] OUT FROM THE SHEEP, OR FROM THE GOATS:

**The animal could be either a sheep or a goat; It had to be a one-year-old, and there was to be nothing wrong with it.

12:6 AND YE SHALL KEEP IT UP UNTIL THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE SAME MONTH: AND THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY OF THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL SHALL KILL IT IN THE EVENING.

A.Each family was to take care of the animal selected (on the tenth day of the month - Verse 3) until the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.

B.Then the animals were to be killed and prepared.

C.The interval of four days would allow them to examine the animal thoroughly to be sure it had no defect.

12:7 AND THEY SHALL TAKE OF THE BLOOD, AND STRIKE [IT] ON THE TWO SIDE POSTS AND ON THE UPPER DOOR POST OF THE HOUSES, WHEREIN THEY SHALL EAT IT.

A.Some of the blood was to be put on the two door posts, and above the door of each house where the animal was to be eaten.

B.Since life is in the blood (Lev 17:4), then blood would be the symbol of atonement. This sign of atonement was to be placed on the house to show that it was protected.

C.Just being an Israelite by birth would not protect them from the plague, as it had done in previous plagues -- This time it was to be a matter of choice, of obedience. No one would be spared except those who of their own accord submitted to the will of God. Perhaps even already God is showing that circum-cision avails nothing, and that which counts is being a new creature. The mark upon the door had to come from the willing mind inside the house.

12:8 AND THEY SHALL EAT THE FLESH IN THAT NIGHT, ROAST WITH FIRE, AND UNLEAVENED BREAD; [AND] WITH BITTER [HERBS] THEY SHALL EAT IT.

12:9 EAT NOT OF IT RAW, NOR SODDEN AT ALL WITH WATER, BUT ROAST [WITH] FIRE; HIS HEAD WITH HIS LEGS, AND WITH THE PURTENANCE THEREOF.

A.NOR SODDEN AT ALL WITH WATER: Not boiled in water, so as to allow the meat to be corrupted with any foreign substance, but ROAST WITH FIRE, so as to have only the pure dry meat.

B.HIS HEAD WITH HIS LEGS: The Lamb being whole may have been a symbol of the unity of Israel. It also may have been a figure of the unbroken body of the One Whom the Lamb represented, for not a bone of Him was broken - Jn 19:36 (Num 9:12).

C.WITH THE PURTENANCE: The organs. Jewish commentators say all the insides were taken out and cleaned, then replaced, and the Lamb was then roasted.

12:10 AND YE SHALL LET NOTHING OF IT REMAIN UNTIL THE MORNING; AND THAT WHICH REMAINETH OF IT UNTIL THE MORNING YE SHALL BURN WITH FIRE.

A.They were to eat all they wanted that night, and whatever remained till morning was to be burned.

B.This eating of the Passover Lamb was a one-night affair, to be done IN HASTE (Verse 11). Other directions concerning the yearly feast would be given at a later date; for example:

  1. In addition to the Passover Lamb, with which the celebration began, and which was to be eaten in the family situation, there were to be public sacrifices for each of the seven days. They consisted of two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs, and one goat, with meat-offerings - Num 28:19-24.
  2. On the second day, the first fruits of the harvest were to be presented in the shape of a ripe sheaf of barley; this was to be accompanied by the sacrifice of a lamb with meat and drink offerings - Lev 28:10-14.

12:11 AND THUS SHALL YE EAT IT; [WITH] YOUR LOINS GIRDED, YOUR SHOES ON YOUR FEET, AND YOUR STAFF IN YOUR HAND; AND YE SHALL EAT IT IN HASTE: IT [IS] THE LORD'S PASSOVER.

A.LOINS GIRDED...SHOES...STAFF: Their common dress was a loose robe, which had to be tied or belted up for them to move fast, and they commonly did not wear sandals in the house; So, when they ate this special meal they were to be dressed for travel-ing, and ready to go immediately.

B.EAT IT IN HASTE: They did not know at what moment they would be called to start on the journey.

C.IT IS THE LORD'S PASSOVER: This is not a common meal, it is the Passover Feast, eaten in honor of Jehovah, and is the mark of His protection. So, eat IN HASTE, but also in reverence.

12:12 FOR I WILL PASS THROUGH THE LAND OF EGYPT THIS NIGHT, AND WILL SMITE ALL THE FIRSTBORN IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, BOTH MAN AND BEAST; AND AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT I WILL EXECUTE JUDGMENT: I [AM] THE LORD.

A.FOR: Now is given the explanation for the Feast, and why it was such a serious matter -- On the night they ate the Pass-over Feast God was going to go through Egypt and kill the firstborn of every family, and the firstborn of the animals.

B.AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT: This would be punishment for the idolatry of the Land -- Note that this immediately follows the word BEAST. Animal worship was an important part of the religion of the Egyptians. The whole country was filled with sacred animals; Death of the firstborn among them would be regarded as a judgment against the gods they represented.

C.I AM THE LORD: His emphasis that what was said is guaranteed to be true, as He underscored the promise to Moses in Ex. 6:8, "AND I WILL BRING YOU IN UNTO THE LAND, CONCERNING THE WHICH I DID SWEAR TO GIVE IT TO ABRAHAM, TO ISAAC, AND TO JACOB; AND I WILL GIVE IT YOU FOR AN HERITAGE: I [AM] THE LORD."

12:13 AND THE BLOOD SHALL BE TO YOU FOR A TOKEN UPON THE HOUSES WHERE YE [ARE]: AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL PASS OVER YOU, AND THE PLAGUE SHALL NOT BE UPON YOU TO DESTROY [YOU], WHEN I SMITE THE LAND OF EGYPT.

A.The blood on the doorposts would identify the Israelites.

B.Because God would PASS OVER them, they would not be touched by the terrible plague of death (cf "Passover" Feast).

12:14 AND THIS DAY SHALL BE UNTO YOU FOR A MEMORIAL; AND YE SHALL KEEP IT A FEAST TO THE LORD THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS; YE SHALL KEEP IT A FEAST BY AN ORDINANCE FOR EVER.

A.Up to this point the instructions had reference to the first Passover, which was the one-night celebration preceding the Exodus. Now, further directions are given.

B.FOR A MEMORIAL: This was to be an annual observance.

C.FOR EVER: Not eternally, but THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS (as the chosen people of God).

12:15 SEVEN DAYS SHALL YE EAT UNLEAVENED BREAD; EVEN THE FIRST DAY YE SHALL PUT AWAY LEAVEN OUT OF YOUR HOUSES: FOR WHOSOEVER EATETH LEAVENED BREAD FROM THE FIRST DAY UNTIL THE SEVENTH DAY, THAT SOUL SHALL BE CUT OFF FROM ISRAEL.

A.The yearly observance was to be a week's celebration involving the eating of unleavened bread for seven days after the kill-ing of the Passover Lamb; On the first day of the Feast they were to rid their houses of yeast, and for the seven days they could eat no bread made with yeast.

B.Any Israelite who did not observe this restriction would be put out of the covenant relationship, severed, excommunicated.

12:16 AND IN THE FIRST DAY [THERE SHALL BE] AN HOLY CONVOCATION, AND IN THE SEVENTH DAY THERE SHALL BE AN HOLY CONVOCATION TO YOU; NO MANNER OF WORK SHALL BE DONE IN THEM, SAVE [THAT] WHICH EVERY MAN MUST EAT, THAT ONLY MAY BE DONE OF YOU.

A.On the first and seventh days of the Feast there was to be a solemn gathering, an assembly, for worship (for HOLY things).

B.On the days of the Feast the only work that could be done was the preparing of the bread that would be eaten.

12:17 AND YE SHALL OBSERVE [THE FEAST OF] UNLEAVENED BREAD; FOR IN THIS SELFSAME DAY HAVE I BROUGHT YOUR ARMIES OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT: THEREFORE SHALL YE OBSERVE THIS DAY IN YOUR GENERATIONS BY AN ORDINANCE FOR EVER.

A.They were to celebrate THE FEAST (or Festival) OF UNLEAVENED BREAD as a way of remembering how God brought them (ARMY: A mass of people, a great company) out of Egypt. (UNLEAVENED BREAD represents purity of heart, as leaven is used as an emblem of corruption - Mt 16:6-12, "6 Then Jesus said unto them, {Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.} 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, [It is] because we have taken no bread. 8 [Which] when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, {O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?} 9 {Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?} 10 {Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?} 11 {How is it that ye do not understand that I spake [it] not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?} 12 Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."; And 1Co 5:6-8, "6 Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.")

B.This was to be done every year FOR EVER (again note the qualification of the term -- IN YOUR GENERATIONS).

12:18 IN THE FIRST [MONTH], ON THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH AT EVEN, YE SHALL EAT UNLEAVENED BREAD, UNTIL THE ONE AND TWENTIETH DAY OF THE MONTH AT EVEN.

12:19 SEVEN DAYS SHALL THERE BE NO LEAVEN FOUND IN YOUR HOUSES: FOR WHOSOEVER EATETH THAT WHICH IS LEAVENED, EVEN THAT SOUL SHALL BE CUT OFF FROM THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL, WHETHER HE BE A STRANGER, OR BORN IN THE LAND.

A.This seems to extend the warning of Verse 15 ("THAT SOUL SHALL BE CUT OFF FROM ISRAEL"), to say that the guilty one would not even be permitted in the presence of God's people ("THAT SOUL SHALL BE CUT OFF FROM THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL").

B.This leaves the implication that faithful Gentiles were not excluded from fellowship with God, even at the very foundation of the Nation of Israel -- Remember Gen 12:3, and Gen 22:18. Many Egyptians went with the Israelites (Ex 12:38, "AND A MIXED MULTITUDE WENT UP ALSO WITH THEM"), and there would be Kenites to join them in the wilderness - Num 10:29-31.

C.BORN IN THE LAND: An Israelite by birth, apparently THE LAND being a reference to the Promised Land of Canaan.

12:20 YE SHALL EAT NOTHING LEAVENED; IN ALL YOUR HABITATIONS SHALL YE EAT UNLEAVENED BREAD.

A.The repetition marks the seriousness of the instruction.

B.This applied to native Israelites and to proselytes.

C.IN ALL YOUR HABITATIONS: Whether here in Egypt, later in the wilderness, in Canaan, in Babylonia -- Anywhere.

12:21 THEN MOSES CALLED FOR ALL THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL, AND SAID UNTO THEM, DRAW OUT AND TAKE YOU A LAMB ACCORDING TO YOUR FAMILIES, AND KILL THE PASSOVER.

**Having received the instructions from Jehovah, Moses now directs the leaders of Israel to prepare the Passover.

12:22 AND YE SHALL TAKE A BUNCH OF HYSSOP, AND DIP [IT] IN THE BLOOD THAT [IS] IN THE BASIN, AND STRIKE THE LINTEL AND THE TWO SIDE POSTS WITH THE BLOOD THAT [IS] IN THE BASIN; AND NONE OF YOU SHALL GO OUT AT THE DOOR OF HIS HOUSE UNTIL THE MORNING.

A.They were to make a brush out of hyssop and use that to "paint" the blood beside and above their doors.

B.Then they were to stay in the houses all night, for beyond the protection of the blood of the lamb, there was no assurance of safety.

C.This is a good reminder to us that we must beware of stepping beyond the limits where the atoning blood of Christ extends.

D.It also reminds us of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, for just as the Passover Lamb was substituted for the first-born, so the Lamb of God was substituted for us - Jn 1:29; Rom 5:6.

12:23 FOR THE LORD WILL PASS THROUGH TO SMITE THE EGYPTIANS; AND WHEN HE SEETH THE BLOOD UPON THE LINTEL, AND ON THE TWO SIDE POSTS, THE LORD WILL PASS OVER THE DOOR, AND WILL NOT SUFFER THE DESTROYER TO COME IN UNTO YOUR HOUSES TO SMITE [YOU].

**THE DESTROYER: Sometimes called "The Death Angel," but that exact expression is not in the Scriptures.

12:24 AND YE SHALL OBSERVE THIS THING FOR AN ORDINANCE TO THEE AND TO THY SONS FOR EVER.

12:25 AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, WHEN YE BE COME TO THE LAND WHICH THE LORD WILL GIVE YOU, ACCORDING AS HE HATH PROMISED, THAT YE SHALL KEEP THIS SERVICE.

12:26 AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, WHEN YOUR CHILDREN SHALL SAY UNTO YOU, WHAT MEAN YE BY THIS SERVICE?

12:27 THAT YE SHALL SAY, IT [IS] THE SACRIFICE OF THE LORD'S PASSOVER, WHO PASSED OVER THE HOUSES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN EGYPT, WHEN HE SMOTE THE EGYPTIANS, AND DELIVERED OUR HOUSES. AND THE PEOPLE BOWED THE HEAD AND WORSHIPPED.

12:28 AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WENT AWAY, AND DID AS THE LORD HAD COMMANDED MOSES AND AARON, SO DID THEY.

A.Having been instructed as to how to observe the Feast, and how to explain it to their children, the people WORSHIPED.

B.And then they carried out the instructions of God -- What every true believer in any age will do.

12:29 AND IT CAME TO PASS, THAT AT MIDNIGHT THE LORD SMOTE ALL THE FIRSTBORN IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, FROM THE FIRSTBORN OF PHARAOH THAT SAT ON HIS THRONE UNTO THE FIRSTBORN OF THE CAPTIVE THAT [WAS] IN THE DUNGEON; AND ALL THE FIRSTBORN OF CATTLE.

A.The Tenth Plague came, exactly as Pharaoh had been warned, and as had been told to Moses and Aaron and the Israelites.

B.Nine plagues had been sent, and very little serious effect had been produced.

C.Now the time had come for dealing the final blow -- God is holy and righteous: He demands death as the payment for sin.

D.This came AT MIDNIGHT, just as Moses said - Ex 11:4.

E.THE CAPTIVE THAT WAS IN THE DUNGEON: This takes the place of the expression in Ex 11:5, "the first-born of the maid servant that is behind the mill." In both cases the idea is that from the highest to the lowest, none were spared.

12:30 AND PHARAOH ROSE UP IN THE NIGHT, HE, AND ALL HIS SERVANTS, AND ALL THE EGYPTIANS; AND THERE WAS A GREAT CRY IN EGYPT; FOR [THERE WAS] NOT A HOUSE WHERE [THERE WAS] NOT ONE DEAD.

12:31 AND HE CALLED FOR MOSES AND AARON BY NIGHT, AND SAID, RISE UP, [AND] GET YOU FORTH FROM AMONG MY PEOPLE, BOTH YE AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL; AND GO, SERVE THE LORD, AS YE HAVE SAID.

A.Moses had told Pharaoh in Ex 10:29 that they would not meet again face to face.

B.So this may have been a meeting with some of Pharaoh's court officials.

C.This is the fulfillment of God's prophecy in Ex 6:1, "Then the LORD said unto Moses, now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land."

12:32 ALSO TAKE YOUR FLOCKS AND YOUR HERDS, AS YE HAVE SAID, AND BE GONE; AND BLESS ME ALSO.

A.Pharaoh had thought he could fight against Jehovah and that he could not be forced to give in, but no one can fight against the Almighty God and win.

B.So here is Pharaoh's unconditional surrender.

C.Not only that, but his pride was so broken that he asked for a blessing from the two Hebrews he had hated and mistreated for so long!

D.It was customary for the Egyptian priests to bless their king, so this indicates that Pharaoh had come to recognize that if he was to be truly blessed, the blessing had to come from Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews - cf Ex 5:2 (Now he knows!)

12:33 AND THE EGYPTIANS WERE URGENT UPON THE PEOPLE, THAT THEY MIGHT SEND THEM OUT OF THE LAND IN HASTE; FOR THEY SAID, WE [BE] ALL DEAD [MEN].

A.The Egyptians were anxious for the Israelites to be gone, so their God would not take more lives.

B.This was an uprising of the entire population; Each citizen of Egypt feared for himself as long as a single Israelite re-mained in the Land.

12:34 AND THE PEOPLE TOOK THEIR DOUGH BEFORE IT WAS LEAVENED, THEIR KNEADINGTROUGHS BEING BOUND UP IN THEIR CLOTHES UPON THEIR SHOULDERS.

A.TOOK THEIR DOUGH: Perhaps it was thus ordered because it would be difficult to take flour and try to make dough on the jour-ney out of the Land.

B.BOUND UP IN THEIR CLOTHES: They wore large loose-fitting shawls in which there was room to carry many articles.

12:35 AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF MOSES; AND THEY BORROWED OF THE EGYPTIANS JEWELS OF SILVER, AND JEWELS OF GOLD, AND RAIMENT:

12:36 AND THE LORD GAVE THE PEOPLE FAVOR IN THE SIGHT OF THE EGYPTIANS, SO THAT THEY LENT UNTO THEM [SUCH THINGS AS THEY REQUIRED]. AND THEY SPOILED THE EGYPTIANS.

A.The Egyptians readily and voluntarily supplied all that the Israelites requested.

B.Remember that the word BORROWED in Verse 35 literally means "asked," and the word LENT in Verse 36 literally means "gave."

C.As has been pointed out earlier, it was only right that the Egyptians make a contribution to the people they had used.

D.So the Israelites went forth from Egypt, not as poor slaves, but as conquerors, adorned with jewels and wealth.

12:1-13:22, From the Land of Goshen to the Red Sea.

12:1-36, Israel was spared the death of the firstborn by means of the blood of the Passover Lamb.

12:37-13:22, Then they left Egypt, God leading them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

12:37 AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL JOURNEYED FROM RAMESES TO SUCCOTH, ABOUT SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND ON FOOT [THAT WERE] MEN, BESIDE CHILDREN.

A.FROM RAMESES: Since they lived all over Goshen, we assume the ones in and near Rameses moved with Moses and Aaron, while the rest of the population gathered from all areas to Succoth.

B.SUCCOTH: This seems to be one of the treasure cities they had been forced to build for Pharaoh.

C.This was their first camping place as they began the journey.

D.SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND: Num 1:3-43 tells us that MEN means males above 20 years of age, of which group there were 625,550 (the record here says ABOUT 600,000. The word CHILDREN seems to stand for "families," -- The total population has been vari-ously estimated to be from one and a half to three million.

12:38 AND A MIXED MULTITUDE WENT UP ALSO WITH THEM; AND FLOCKS, AND HERDS, [EVEN] VERY MUCH CATTLE.

A.MIXED MULTITUDE: Many others went with them, apparently some Egyptians, and also perhaps foreigners who had been forced to be slaves along with the Israelites. Now they would be glad to have opportunity to escape the tyranny of the king.

B.This MULTITUDE had not calculated the risks nor considered the trials in the desert, and they would later set a bad example in the wilderness which the children of Israel would follow -- Num 11:4-5, "4 And the mixed multitude that [was] among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: 6 But now our soul [is] dried away: [there is] nothing at all, beside this manna, [before] our eyes."

12:39 AND THEY BAKED UNLEAVENED CAKES OF THE DOUGH WHICH THEY BROUGHT FORTH OUT OF EGYPT, FOR IT WAS NOT LEAVENED; BECAUSE THEY WERE THRUST OUT OF EGYPT, AND COULD NOT TARRY, NEITHER HAD THEY PREPARED FOR THEMSELVES ANY VICTUAL ("vittle" -- food).

12:40 NOW THE SOJOURNING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, WHO DWELT IN EGYPT, [WAS] FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS.

A.At first glance, this may seem to say they were in Egypt 430 years; but look again. It says the people who dwelt in Egypt sojourned 430 years, but it does not say where they sojourned.

B.In Gal 3:16-17 Paul says the Law was given 430 years after the Promise to Abraham. An article by J. Edward Nowlin (see his article on page 93 of these notes) shows the ages of the pa-triarchs can be used to determine that from the Promise to the going into Egypt was 215 years, and from going into Egypt to the Exodus was 215 years.

C.So the SOJOURNING of this Verse (12:40) was 215 years in Ca-naan and 215 years in Egypt, making the total of 430 years.

12:41 AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THE END OF THE FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS, EVEN THE SELFSAME DAY IT CAME TO PASS, THAT ALL THE HOSTS OF THE LORD WENT OUT FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT.

A.WENT OUT FROM THE LAND: They were aware of the faithfulness of God as He kept the promise He had made to the fathers.

B.Perhaps the "going out" here refers to their beginning the journey, not the actual exit from Egypt, as that came a little later when they crossed through the Red Sea.

THE NEXT PAGE (93) IS J. EDWARD NOWLIN'S ARTICLE; THE NOTES ON THE TEXT OF EXODUS ARE CONTINUED ON PAGE 94.

12:42 IT [IS] A NIGHT TO BE MUCH OBSERVED UNTO THE LORD FOR BRINGING THEM OUT FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT: THIS [IS] THAT NIGHT OF THE LORD TO BE OBSERVED OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN THEIR GENERATIONS.

A.THIS IS THAT NIGHT OF THE LORD (JEHOVAH): A night in which He appeared and blessed His people.

B.TO BE OBSERVED: It was to be held in their memory as long as they continued to be the special chosen people of God (IN THEIR GENERATIONS). Do we remember our spiritual birthday?

C.NOTE ON VERSES 40-42: The trials had been severe, but the joy-ful end is in sight. God had told Abraham that those who descended from him would be afflicted - Gen 15:13-14, "13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and after-ward shall they come out with great substance." While Jacob and his children had lived in Canaan, before the famine, they were free, under bondage to no one. But in Egypt they were subject to Pharaoh, and had a certain province (The Land Of Goshen) assigned to them. The time came when their lives were "made bitter with hard bondage" (Ex 1:14). Their children were killed (Ex 1:22), and it seemed there was no escape from the terrible condition, even though they cried out to God. So it may be with us -- perhaps we are given a time of suffering so we can learn to endure and to trust God. Then the time of suffering finally ends, whether in this world or the next. The trial seems long, but times and seasons are in God's Hands; He knows what kind and length of testing we need, so we LEARN from our circumstances, LIVE for our Master, and LEAVE the length of the trial to His Wisdom and His Mercy.

12:43-51, Additional instruction regarding the Passover.

12:43 AND THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES AND AARON, THIS [IS] THE ORDINANCE OF THE PASSOVER: THERE SHALL NO STRANGER EAT THEREOF:

A.No one but Israelites could eat the Passover Feast.

B.STRANGER: A foreigner who wanted to retain his foreign citi-zenship and remain uncircumcised - cf Verse 48.

12:44 BUT EVERY MAN'S SERVANT THAT IS BOUGHT FOR MONEY, WHEN THOU HAST CIRCUMCISED HIM, THEN SHALL HE EAT THEREOF.

A.Those slaves who had been made part of the family and who had been brought into covenant relation with God could eat.

B.Note that this slave was to be considered on the same spiri-tual plane with all other Israelites.

12:45 A FOREIGNER AND AN HIRED SERVANT SHALL NOT EAT THEREOF.

A.A FOREIGNER: A sojourner who was just passing through the land, or perhaps staying a while, but not intending to become a permanent resident. Apparently some of the HIRED SERVANTS were of this category.

B.So, those not intimately connected to an Israelite family, not part of the covenant, could not eat.

12:46 IN ONE HOUSE SHALL IT BE EATEN; THOU SHALT NOT CARRY FORTH OUGHT OF THE FLESH ABROAD OUT OF THE HOUSE; NEITHER SHALL YE BREAK A BONE THEREOF.

A.IN ONE HOUSE: The meal was to be laid out in a house, and eaten there, with none of it to go outside the house until morning, when any which was left was to be burned - Verse 10.

B.NEITHER SHALL YE BREAK A BONE: Some think this was a symbol of the unity of the Nation of Israel.

12:47 ALL THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL SHALL KEEP IT.

12:48 AND WHEN A STRANGER SHALL SOJOURN WITH THEE, AND WILL KEEP THE PASSOVER TO THE LORD, LET ALL HIS MALES BE CIRCUMCISED, AND THEN LET HIM COME NEAR AND KEEP IT; AND HE SHALL BE AS ONE THAT IS BORN IN THE LAND: FOR NO UNCIRCUMCISED PERSON SHALL EAT THEREOF.

A.All Israelites were to participate in the Feast.

B.Those of Verse 45 could eat only if they were brought into covenant relation with Jehovah.

12:49 ONE LAW SHALL BE TO HIM THAT IS HOMEBORN, AND UNTO THE STRANGER THAT SOJOURNETH AMONG YOU.

**All would be on the same spiritual footing before God.

12:50 THUS DID ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL; AS THE LORD COMMANDED MOSES AND AARON, SO DID THEY.

A.At this first Passover they obeyed everything the Lord had told Moses and Aaron to command them to do.

B.This may have specific reference to the instructions about who was to be allowed to eat, and who was to be excluded.

12:51 AND IT CAME TO PASS THE SELFSAME DAY, [THAT] THE LORD DID BRING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT BY THEIR ARMIES.

**ARMIES: They were not in position to fight a war, but they were well organized into divisions, as armies are.

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